In a Council-Manager municipality, the Mayor often has no more authority than a City Council member, except for ceremonial duties. Instead, the City Council makes laws and broad policy decisions, and the city manager is responsible for ensuring those policies are carried out. Texas’s most populous cities (Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, El Paso, Fort Worth, Arlington, Corpus Christi, Plano, and Laredo) all have a Council-Manager form of government, except for Houston.
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Amarillo, the first city in Texas to adopt the council-manager form of government, abandoned its commission government for the new plan in 1913. In 1914 Taylor and Denton adopted the council-manager plan.
ADOPTION OF CITY MANAGER FORM OF GOVERNMENT. The municipality, by first holding an election on the question, may adopt the city manager form of government. Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987. Sec. 25.022. PETITION.
In Texas this form is even more dominant: 251 of the 290 home-rule cities in Texas operate with a city council as a policy body and a city manager as the chief executive-administrative officer of city government. The plan's original features included a mayor elected from among the city council members after all of them assumed office.
DUTIES OF GOVERNING BODY IF CITY MANAGER FORM IS ABANDONED. (a) If a majority of votes cast at an election under this subchapter are for abandoning the city manager form of government, the governing body of the municipality shall discharge the city manager within 60 days after the election day.
Amarillo, the first city in Texas to adopt the council-manager form of government, abandoned its commission government for the new plan in 1913. In 1914 Taylor and Denton adopted the council-manager plan. By 1947 there were fifty-eight council-manager cities in Texas.
By 1947 there were fifty-eight council-manager cities in Texas. Austin is the largest city in Texas that elects its city council at large by place. Austin also pays its mayor and council members a great deal more than, for instance, Dallas.
Council-Manager Form of City Government. The newest of the three major forms of city government, the council-manager form quickly gained acceptance among cities of all sizes and continued in 1994 to be the most popular form in American cities of more than 10,000 population. In Texas this form is even more dominant: 251 of the 290 home-rule cities in Texas operate with a city council as a policy body and a city manager as the chief executive-administrative officer of city government. The plan's original features included a mayor elected from among the city council members after all of them assumed office. The council was nearly always elected at large, received no pay, and spent little time at city hall. Today, in most council-manager cities, mayors are elected at large. Other council members may be elected at large, at large by place, or by district. In larger cities they spend a considerable amount of time on their city duties. The plan continues to be adopted yearly by a number of cities and dropped by few. Amarillo, the first city in Texas to adopt the council-manager form of government, abandoned its commission government for the new plan in 1913. In 1914 Taylor and Denton adopted the council-manager plan. By 1947 there were fifty-eight council-manager cities in Texas. Austin is the largest city in Texas that elects its city council at large by place. Austin also pays its mayor and council members a great deal more than, for instance, Dallas. The norm for Texas cities is token pay, consistent with the original concept of the council-manager plan, which placed policy responsibility in a part-time elected body, and management of the city's business in a professional city manager. Today, most city managers have graduate degrees in public or business administration and may be paid as much as $150,000 a year. The salary is partially in recognition of the stress under which managers operate, particularly in large cities. Managers serve at the pleasure of their city councils and sometimes must bear the brunt of attacks that sometimes should be levied against the governing body. Because of this, contracts and severance agreements are becoming more prevalent. Under these, if a manager is involuntarily dismissed, he receives a specified amount of termination pay.
The norm for Texas cities is token pay, consistent with the original concept of the council-manager plan, which placed policy responsibility in a part-time elected body, and management of the city's business in a professional city manager. Today, most city managers have graduate degrees in public or business administration ...
In Texas this form is even more dominant: 251 of the 290 home-rule cities in Texas operate with a city council as a policy body and a city manager as the chief executive-administrative officer of city government.
Today, most city managers have graduate degrees in public or business administration and may be paid as much as $150,000 a year. The salary is partially in recognition of the stress under which managers operate, particularly in large cities.
The council was nearly always elected at large, received no pay, and spent little time at city hall. Today, in most council-manager cities, mayors are elected at large. Other council members may be elected at large, at large by place, or by district.